Curriculum Vitae

Lawrence Eng

Contact Information

Current Employment

1. Title:

Online Community Manager

Employer:

ServiceNow (http://www.service-now.com)

Location:

San Diego, CA

Time frame:

May 2011 - present : Full-time

Description:

I manage the ServiceNow online community, and am responsible for building the next-generation ServiceNow community platform.

2. Title:

Product Analyst, Opera Mini and Opera Turbo (part-time consultant; April 2010 - present)

formerly:

• Research Consultant, Marketing (part-time consultant; July 2010 - November 2010)
  
• Product Analyst, Desktop (Products)
• Product Research Manager, Consumer Product Management and Developer Relations
• Community Marketing & Research Manager, Marketing
• US Market Research and Outreach Manager, Marketing

Employer:

Opera Software (http://www.opera.com)

Location:

San Diego, CA

Time frame:

April 2010 - present : Part-time
September 2006 - March 2010 : Full-time

Description:

As a full-time employee of Opera, I was involved in the company's community marketing and user research initiatives. This included qualitative and quantitative research such as user interviews and surveys--providing information to help Opera ensure that its products are user-centered. Currently, as a part-time consultant, I am one of the principal authors behind Opera's monthly State of the Mobile Web report (http://www.opera.com/smw/) and the Opera Turbo Report (http://www.opera.com/otr/).

Previous Employment

• 2005: Teaching assistant / section instructor for "Information in History and Society". Department of Science and Technology Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY)
  
  
• 2005: Summer research assistant for Prof. Ron Eglash, researching mathematics and culture, and producing related webpages: http://www.ccd.rpi.edu/Eglash/csdt/na/weavework/ and http://www.ccd.rpi.edu/Eglash/csdt/na/rugweaver/. Department of Science and Technology Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY)
  
  
• 2005: Site Director of Computers for Kids, an annual summer program designed to teach teenagers how to refurbish computers and use productivity software (Troy, NY)
  
  
• 2004: Director and Software Instructor for Computers for Kids; see above (Troy, NY)
  
  
• 2004: Teaching assistant / section instructor for "Leadership". Department of Science and Technology Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY)
  
  
• 2003: Research assistant for Prof. Ron Eglash, researching graffiti culture and ethnomathematics, and producing http://www.ccd.rpi.edu/Eglash/csdt/subcult/grafitti/. Department of Science and Technology Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY)
  
  
• 2003: Assistant Director and Software Instructor for Computers for Kids; see above (Troy, NY)
  
  
• 2003: Teaching assistant / section instructor for "Leadership". Department of Science and Technology Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY)
  
  
• 2002: Teaching assistant / section instructor for "Professional Development: Leadership in a Technological World". Department of Science and Technology Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY)
  
  
• 2000: Teaching assistant for "MCB 120L: Biochemistry Laboratory". Section of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis (Davis, CA)
  
  
• 1998: Laboratory technician for Prof. Robert Turgeon. Department of Plant Biology, Cornell University (Ithaca, NY)
  
  
• 1995 - 1998: Assistant instructor for the Shaolin Kung Fu Association at Cornell (Ithaca, NY)

Education

• PhD in Science and Technology Studies
  Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY)
  August, 2006
  

  Description: My primary research interests included (postmodern) youth subcultures, strategies of cultural resistance involving the appropriation of technology and science, public understandings of science, and the sociology of youth violence. I conducted ethnographic fieldwork as part of my 'otaku studies' research, focusing most heavily on the development and nature of the fan cultures/communities surrounding Japanese mass media products--especially animation and comics.

  Dissertation Title: Otaku Engagements: Subcultural Appropriations of Science and Technology

  Dissertation Committee: Ron Eglash (chair), Rayvon Fouche, Linda Layne, Langdon Winner, and Patrick Carroll

• MS in Plant Biology: Cell and Molecular Biology
  University of California, Davis (Davis, CA)
  December, 2000
  

  Principal Investigator: J. Clark Lagarias

  Exam Committee: Judy Callis, Abhaya Dandekar, and Bo Liu

• BS in Biology: Plant Biology - Botany and Plant Biotechnology
  Cornell University (Ithaca, NY)
  January, 1998
  
  
• High School Diploma
  Seoul International School (Seoul, Korea)
  June, 1994
  

Honors and Awards

• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Fellowship (2006)
  
  
• Graduate School Fellowship, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (2001 - 2002)
  
  
• National Science Foundation Plant Cell Biology Training Grant Fellowship, UC Davis (1998 - 2000)
  
  
• Edward J. Wickson Memorial Scholarship (block grant), UC Davis (1998 - 1999)
  
  
• Henry A. Jastro Fellowship, UC Davis (1999)
  
  
• Dean's List, Cornell University (Fall 1994, Spring 1995, Spring 1997, Fall 1997)
  
  
• Sargent & Lundy Centennial Scholarship (1994)
  
  
• Seoul Post Society of American Military Engineers Scholarship (1994)
  
  
• Advanced Placement Scholar with Distinction, The College Board (1994)
  
  
• Valedictorian, Seoul International School (1994)

Publications

Eng, Lawrence. 2012 (forthcoming). "Strategies of Engagement: Discovering, Defining, and Describing Otaku Culture in the United States" and "Anime and Manga Fandom as Networked Culture" in Fandom Unbound: Otaku Culture in a Connected Age. Mizuko Ito, Daisuke Okabe, and Izumi Tsuji, editors. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press.

Eng, Lawrence. 2008. "The Fans Who Became Kings" in Ga-Netchū! Das Manga Anime Syndrom (exhibition catalog for Anime! High Art - Pop Culture, German and English editions). Martha-Christine Menzel, Susanne Neubronner, Jessica Niebel, Hans-Peter Reichmann, Dr. Stephan von der Schulenburg, and Dinah Zank, editors. Berlin: Henschel.

Eng, Lawrence. 2007. "Understanding the Evolution of the Otaku Concept". Success Stories: Japan. March 2007: 5 - 8.

Eng, Lawrence. 2006. Otaku Engagements: Subcultural Appropriations of Science and Technology (Doctoral dissertation, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2006). Proquest No. AAT 3232607: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdlink?did=1221726101&Fmt=7&clientId=79356&RQT=309&VName=PQD.

Eng, Lawrence. 2006. "Otaku" in Contemporary Youth Culture: An International Encyclopedia. Shirley Steinberg, Priya Parmar, and Birgit Richard, editors. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group.

Eng, Lawrence. 2005. "Anime" in the Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia (http://gme.grolier.com/). Scholastic Library Publishing, Inc.

Eng, Lawrence. 2005. "Manga" in the Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia (http://gme.grolier.com/). Scholastic Library Publishing, Inc.

Select articles on the Web

• "Powered by Opera Widgets, Web applications take center stage" - http://labs.opera.com/news/2009/10/15/ (October 15th, 2009)
  
  
• "Opera Unite - Clarifying the Vision" - http://my.opera.com/Lawmune/blog/2009/06/17/opera-unite-clarifying-the-vision (June 17th, 2009)
  
  
• "Taking the Web into our own hands, one computer at a time" - http://labs.opera.com/news/2009/06/16/ (June 16th, 2009)
  
  
• "How to help users discover new features in the Opera browser?" - http://operawatch.com/news/2007/01/how-to-help-users-discover-new-features-in-the-opera-browser.html (January 23rd, 2007)
  
  
• "Better branding for Opera: In search of a clearer corporate image" - http://www.cjas.org/~leng/opera.htm (January 9th, 2005)
  

• "A look at 'The Four Revolutions of Anime'" - http://www.cjas.org/~leng/revolution.htm (October 20th, 2004)
  
  
• "The Origins of 'Otaku'" - http://www.cjas.org/~leng/otaku-origin.htm (November 4th, 2003)
  

Academic Presentations

"Writing about otaku: lessons from fandom, academia, and beyond". Closing remarks at the Anime Expo 2011 Anime and Manga Studies Symposium. Los Angeles, CA (July 3rd, 2011)

"Otaku Engagements: Subcultural Appropriation of Science and Technology". Doctoral dissertation defense at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Troy, NY (July 25th, 2006)

"Discovering Otaku". Guest lecture in "Information in History and Society", an undergraduate course at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Troy, NY (October 17th, 2005)

"Otak-who? Technoculture, youth, consumption, and resistance. American representations of a Japanese youth subculture." Presented at the 26th Annual Meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on November 7 - 9, 2002. This paper was presented on November 8th in a panel entitled "Mediating Marginality: Technological Subcultures at the Intersections of Labor, Design, and Identity."

Invited Talks

"The future of browsers, the future of the Web". RefreshSD. San Diego, CA (August 11th, 2009)

"The International Evolution of the Otaku Concept: Otaku culture in Japan and the United States". Distinguished Lecturer's Series, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, University of North Texas. Denton, TX (April 12th, 2007)

"The Otaku Phenomenon". Japan Society. New York, NY (July 6th, 2005)

"Fanatics, Cuties & Geeks: The Otaku Phenomenon & its Impact Abroad". Co-presented with Robert DeJesus, Ed Halter, and moderated by Thomas Looser. Japan Society. New York, NY (June 9th, 2005)

"The otaku phenomenon: from Japan to America". Nichibei Exchange. New York, NY (June 8th, 2005)

"Anime Night". Co-presented with James Kao. Locus 1640 Post. San Francisco, CA (July 25th, 2001)

Panel Discussions

"Lawrence Eng's Office Hours". Anime Punch! 2011 (Columbus, OH)

"Otaku Studies". Anime Punch! 2011 (Columbus, OH)

"Losing Weight the Otaku Way". Anime Punch! 2011 (Columbus, OH)

"Gainax". Anime Punch! 2011 (Columbus, OH)

"Quantified Self and weight loss: How I shed 40 lbs. in 90 days, and the potential of QS to inform a social movement around healthy weight loss". HealthCamp San Diego (March 2011)

"Self-quantifying my way to weight loss: how I lost 50 pounds in 4 months". QS San Diego Show & Tell #3 (February 2011)

"Self-quantifying my way to weight loss: How I shed 40 lbs. in 90 days". BarCamp San Diego 8 (January 2011)

"Anime Studies 2010: Reading, Writing and Thinking about Japanese Popular Culture". Anime Expo 2010 (Los Angeles, CA)

"Anime Online / Anime Industry in America". Anime Punch! 2010 (Columbus, OH)

"Otaku Studies". Anime Punch! 2010 (Columbus, OH)

"Lightning Talks". Moderator. Anime Punch! 2010 (Columbus, OH)

"Macross". Anime Punch! 2010 (Columbus, OH)

"Gainax". Anime Punch! 2010 (Columbus, OH)

"Old-School Gainax: From Daicon to Evangelion". Genericon XXIII, 2010 (Troy, NY)

"Otaku Studies 101: On the Importance of Being Otaku". Genericon XXIII, 2010 (Troy, NY)

"Informal browser chat: What you love & hate about browsers". BarCamp San Diego 6 (January 2010)

"Browser Chat: What you like, What you hate, and What you want to see". BarCamp San Diego 5 (May 2009)

"Fandom and Old vs. New Roundtable". Anime Punch! 2009 (Columbus, OH)

"Old School Gainax - From Daicon to Evangelion". Anime Punch! 2009 (Columbus, OH)

"Advanced topics in Otaku Studies". Anime Punch! 2009 (Columbus, OH)

"Resources for Web Developers (from Opera)". BarCamp San Diego 4 (November 2008)

"Opera Software and the Mobile Web". Opera Software US University Tour, California Polytechnic State University. San Luis Obispo, CA (October 2008)

"Otaku Studies 101 - The Importance of Being Otaku". SITACon 2008 (Utica, NY)

"Old School Gainax - From Daicon to Evangelion". SITACon 2008 (Utica, NY)

"Otaku Studies: The Importance of Being Otaku". Otakon 2008 (Baltimore, MD)

"Anime and Manga in Academia". Anime Expo 2008 (Los Angeles, CA)

"Browser Wars 2.0: 'Is your browser better than my browser?'". BarCamp San Diego 3 (May 2008)

"serial experiments lain". Anime Punch! 2008 (Columbus, OH)

"Anime and the Internet". Anime Punch! 2008 (Columbus, OH)

"Otaku Studies". Anime Punch! 2008 (Columbus, OH)

"Anime in Academia". Anime Punch! 2008 (Columbus, OH)

"Otaku as Viewed by Media/Normals". Anime Punch! 2008 (Columbus, OH)

"Gainax". Anime Punch! 2008 (Columbus, OH)

"Opera Link - convergence demo". BarCamp San Diego 2 (November 2007)

"'It's not easy being free' : Lessons learned from and the challenges of marketing Opera". BarCamp San Diego (June 2007)

"Gainax (Pre-Eva)". Anime Punch! 2007 (Columbus, OH)

"Shonen Manga". Moderator. Anime Punch! 2007 (Columbus, OH)

"Otaku Studies: What it means to be an otaku and why it's important". Anime Punch! 2007 (Columbus, OH)

"Anime in Academia". Anime Punch! 2007 (Columbus, OH)

"Round Table Discussion: Anime". Anime Punch! 2007 (Columbus, OH)

"Visiting Japan, Anime Style". Original concept and planning. Otakon 2006 (Baltimore, MD)

"Otaku Studies: The Importance of Being Otaku". Anime Punch! 2006 (Columbus, OH)

"Shounen Manga". Moderator. Anime Punch! 2006 (Columbus, OH)

"Gainax". Anime Punch! 2006 (Columbus, OH)

"Anime, Manga, and Fandom in Academia". Moderator. Anime Punch! 2006 (Columbus, OH)

"The Evolution of Otaku (from Japan to America and beyond)". Japanese Culture Day 2005, hosted by the Anime Gamers Alliance at SUNY Albany (Albany, NY)

"Why is Anime So Cool? Otaku in America - Panel Discussion for Teens". Moderator. Japan Society. New York, NY. (June 11th, 2005)

"Academic Anime". Anime Weekend Atlanta 2003 (Atlanta, GA)

"Anime in Academia". Otakon 2003 (Baltimore, MD)

"Academic Study of Anime, Manga, and Fandom". Anime Expo New York / Big Apple Anime Fest 2002 (New York, NY)

"Academic Study of Anime, Manga, and Fandom". Anime Expo 2002 (Long Beach, CA)

"serial experiments lain". Anime Expo 2001 (Long Beach, CA)

Credits

Contributed exhibition pieces to the Anime! High Art - Pop Culture international exhibit:

• Provinciaal Cultuurcentrum Caermersklooster in Ghent, Belgium (October 2009 - January 2010)
• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, USA (May 2009 - August 2009)
• Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (as Manga!) in Humlebaek, Denmark (October 2008 - February 2009)
• Deutsches Filmmuseum in Frankfurt, Germany (February 2008 - August 2008)

Co-organized OpenWebCamp (September 26th, 2009), an Opera-sponsored BarCamp event hosted at Stanford University (Palo Alto, CA)

Provided "Additional Help" for the Game Show at Otakon 2008 (Baltimore, MD)

Contributed research and materials to the Game Show at Otakon 2007 (Baltimore, MD)

Opera-tan: original character concept (illustrated by temp_h in January 2005)

Contributed research and archive materials to "Otaku Unite" (2004), a documentary by Eric Bresler. Central Park Media. 2006

Contributed research to the Serial Experiments lain Ultimate Fan Guide. Lucien Soulban, editor. Guardians of Order, Inc. 2001

Miscellaneous Activities

Invited Guest at Anime Punch! 2011 in Columbus, OH

Invited Guest at Anime Punch! 2010 in Columbus, OH

Invited Guest at Genericon XXIII (2010) in Troy, NY

Invited Guest at Anime Punch! 2009 in Columbus, OH

Invited Guest at SITACon 2008 in Utica, NY

Invited Guest at Anime Punch! 2008 in Columbus, OH

Invited Guest at Anime Punch! 2007 in Columbus, OH

Invited Guest at Anime Punch! 2006 in Columbus, OH

Founder of the Anime and Manga Research Circle (2002 - present), an international community of scholars studying anime and manga, their associated (sub)cultures worldwide, and Japanese popular culture in general. (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/amrc-l/)

Member of Quantified Self San Diego (2010 - present)

Member of MentorNet (2010 - present)

Member of CAAAN, the Cornell Alumni Admissions Ambassador Network (2008 - present)

Treasurer and founding member of the Shaolin Kung Fu Association at Cornell (1995 - 1998)

Member of CJAS, the Cornell Japanese Animation Society (1994 - 1998)

Technical and social media consultant for "In Pursuit of Pretty Things", a style blog (http://www.inpursuitofprettythings.com/) (2010 - present)